Dragonlike Destiny
by Kage no Ryunin
Summary: Destiny is a funny thing. When a small aspect is adjusted and Sasuke and Naruto's destinies shift, their lives take a very different turn. A bloody tournament and two boys who look like Gaara in a world where wand waving is the thing to do, to be exact. They can survive, they know that. They are ninja, after all. But can they find and protect what they need most? SasuNaru
1. Chapter 1

Destiny is a funny thing.

She lies within every one of us, yet not always does she act. A boy from a clan of all-seeing people puts his faith in Fate, yet for some Fate does not wield power. Only one of the many lives of this all-seeing teen is truly on his predetermined Fate.

Perhaps I should explain.

I am she known as Kage no Ryu, Dragon of the Shadows. I toy with Destiny, and I am the only one to fully grasp her laws. I can also play with her threads and cause chaos, sweet chaos. For this story to be told, I have to explain the rules that Destiny follows. Listen carefully, as it is of vital importance.

Every person has a destiny. Whether it is positive or negative- for good and evil do not exist and are but something used to justify human actions- it is there. But it is rarely followed.

For every person there exist hundreds of planes of existence. Each plays out the being's life with the slightest tweaks in vital levels. There exist few dimensions where Destiny truly rules, where we all follow the code lain out in our very being, and that is her kingdom. The rest of the lands are her colonies, loyal for the most part but vulnerable to outside forces. Namely me. The vital levels that are changed to create the countless colonies of Destiny's domain, are those of one thing.

Love.

'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.'

Love is a double edged sword. In some planes a single person's love was amplified by an ounce and the dimension was prosperous rather than meeting a flaming end as happened in Destiny's kingdom. Yet in another the love was increased for a being and the world exploded, where in Destiny's land it lived a long and happy existence.

There are countless choices of how to change levels of love and therefore countless dimensions exist. But a rule is that Worlds of dimensions may not mix. The land of Shinobi warriors may not mix with that of elemental manipulation. The World of aliens and space exploration cannot be combined with that of enormous flying animals created by those that call themselves 'Darwinists'.

That's where I come in. I am special, created by Kami-sama herself to meddle with the order. Long ago, Destiny was growing bored with her little world and interfered with people's True Destinies. It took Kami-sama a millennium to fix, and she decided to give Destiny a job. For a job to exist there has to be a problem, and so she created me.

I have the power to cross Worlds. At my command, beings from one World find themselves in another, and lovely chaos ensues. When Destiny feels like watching the show, it occupies her. It is quite entertaining to watch the little creatures known as humans adapt to the Worlds not their own. If Destiny is not entertained, the two planes that were crossed are simply demolished in the grandest manner we can orchestrate.

It's quite spectacular.

But now to the tale I am to tell you.

Once when I was a million and seventy five, a mere child, I happened upon a True Destiny that I found rather sad. Two children, both with true love for the other, were ripped apart by the whims of circumstance. They were from the World of the Shinobi, Hi no Kuni, Konohagakure. They were on the same team of genin ninja, and a cruel Destiny caused one to betray his village for the power to kill his own brother and avenge his clan. The other was devastated and chased the Avenger to the ends of the earth. The Kyuubi that was sealed inside this child got fed up with the boy's resistance of Fate and eventually took over, destroying them both along with the world in a massive explosion of the thing that the Shinobi call Chakra.

The two were Bound Ones as well, but the Avenger's stubbornness and thirst for revenge drove him away from his Chosen. Bound Ones are what the humans call Soul Mates. It is not true that the Soul is that Bound, but their Fate Binds them to love. And yet, though the Avenger truly did love, the follies of others prevented any happiness between the two. They died with broken hearts and unfulfilled Binds.

It was a great tragedy, and one I felt an obligation to fix. So, as young and reckless ones often do, I took matters into my own hands.

I created a new plane, and changed a single thing. I gave the Avenger a few ounces more love for his Chosen. That resulted in an entirely different timeline. Both boys were rivals, and the events were mostly the same until a Fateful meeting at the Valley of the End. The Avenger merely knocked out his best friend, rather than aim to kill. From then on he showed more and more reluctance to be separated from his Chosen, and eventually let himself be dragged back to Konohagakure.

I could have just let them live out their lives happily. In fact, I duplicated the dimension so that one copy of the circumstance could indeed end in joy. But as for the other . . .

Where's the fun in a happy ending?

**Yup, abrupt and confusing. That's how I roll. This is the start of a HP + Naruto crossover, and pairings that I am sure about are as such.**

**SasuNaru (duh)**

**. . .**

**. . .**

**Wow, I'm writing a story and don't know the pairings yet. That's just sad. **

**The next chapter will hopefully be longer. I like writing as a philosophical person. If Wobs were trying to write this, the narrator would be a kickbutt ninja who stole power from Kami. Sorry, but my alter ego will not be making an appearance. Too bad, so sad.**

**-Dragon**


	2. Chapter 2

**Forgot the disclaimer, so here it is! This will disclaim the entire story, so no getting on my back about the disclaimer being gone. I do not own Naruto, and in no way ever will.**

Two ninja leapt through the trees at high speeds. The wind whipped their hair around their faces, wild hurricanes of gold and black. One, the blond, made a few signals to his partner. Without a word they split, one on either side of a clearing. Voices crackled through the headsets.

_Target in sight. Rasengan Hurricane in position._

_*Sigh* Do I have to use that lame codename, usratonkachi?_

_Shut up! Didn't baa-chan tell you, no nicknames! It could give away our identities._

_Considering what we're chasing, it doesn't matter._

_Just shut up or I'll say your codename for you._

_Fine, just be quiet. Emo Boy, in position._

_Hahahahaha! Gotta love it._

_Can it, Dobe. _

_No way, teme. _

_Can we just finish the mission already? _

_Fine. Apprehend the target in three, two, one . . ._

A darkly colored blur shot out of the bushes. When it stilled it revealed a boy, about 17, cradling a cat in his arms. The troublesome little neko had a bow around on ear.

"Identity confirmed. Missing pet Tora in custody."

Another boy of the same age appeared from behind a tree. "Nice job teme. Keep talking like that and you'll end up as a drill sergeant."

"Shut up, usratonkachi. Let's just get this little monster back to the Fire Daimyo's wife."

"Agreed."

They took off through the trees, leaving but a rustle in their wake. If any person had been listening they would wonder. Why did the two boys bicker so much? Why did neither take the slightest offense to the insults they so casually tossed around? Why were two seventeen-year-old ninja, one of which was clearly a chuunin, doing a task of a genin team of three twelve and thirteen year olds? The answer, which they would completely understand in an instant, was quite simple. They were not just any children.

They were Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.

"Hey, baa-chan. Mission complete."

Tsunade looked up from her mountain of horrible, horrible paperwork to see Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke looked bored, and held a cat in his arms. Naruto was perky as ever.

"You listening, baa-chan? We got the stupid cat."

Tsunade snickered. Ah yes, Tora, the terror of the D-ranks. "Very good, gaki. Would you be so kind as to return the little terror, Uchiha-san?"

Without a word Sasuke complied, and watched with a slightly smug aura as the feline was crushed by its overenthusiastic owner. He could see why it ran away, but was also glad to get the cat back for all the times he'd had to chase the stupid thing.

"Sasuke! Stop thinking vengeful thoughts on the cat!" At Naruto's voice, Sasuke's face turned emotionless.

_Of course. We all know how revenge turned out for me._

"Well, since you finished the mission and it's only 1:00, I have another for you," said Tsunade crisply. She glanced at the paper. "And look at that. It's another missing pet, a puppy named Ryu. **A/N-** **Ryu means Dragon, and Dragon means me!**

Naruto groaned, but didn't complain. Sasuke wanted to sigh. People really should keep better watch over their pets. He saluted sharply. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

Naruto just scratched the back of his neck. "Alright baa-chan. Got a general direction?"

The blonde nodded. "She's over in the forest on the east side. Identification is blue-black fur and a green collar made to look like scales. Retrieve her and return her to her owner, a man by the name of Nintei Kutamaru. You have your mission."

Both of them turned to exit the room when Tsunade called after them, "Be on your guard. There have been sightings of strange shadows the size of bears walking those woods."

The blue eyed boy turned and gave her a brilliant smile. "We're ninja, baa-chan. We can handle these things."

It was true, Sasuke thought as they walked out of the office. They were Shinobi, and could fend for themselves.

From somewhere nonexistent, sandwiched between layers of time and space and without physical substance, I watched with a slight chuckle. While they could easily defeat a bear, perhaps even a lion, nothing could defeat this but Kami-sama herself. After all, no human had any sway over godly things.

Especially when those godly powers were contained in a dragon.

The scene was a mirror of the one from previously in the day. The two Shinobi hopped through the trees, the leafy shadows painting their outfits in dappled patterns.

Over the years both of them had changed, not only in self but appearance as well. Naruto had gotten rid of most of the please-kill-me-now orange, and now wore black pants, the standard blue sandals, and a black t-shirt with orange trim. I said most of the orange, not all. Many weapon pouches hung from various positions. His Konoha hitai-ate was proudly worn on his forehead, and a vest marked him as chuunin. About a year ago he had decided to take up a weapon, and chosen a pair of twin kodachis. They were quite stunning weapons, beautifully wrought silver hilts. They rested at his hips.

Sasuke had changed too, though arguably not as much. It depended if you were referring to his last Konoha outfit or the one from Oto. A black shirt with the clan symbol on the back, black pants, and the hitai-ate around his neck. A shuriken holster dangled from his thigh, and his katana was across his back. The dark green strap that secured the weapon ran from his right shoulder to his left hip, and was host to miscellaneous supplies.

As they followed the puppy-sized chakra signature, Sasuke's brow creased in a frown. Being on probation wasn't exactly fun. He still had three more weeks of D-rank missions before being allowed to take anything higher, and even then he was to be watched by ANBU every second that Naruto wasn't around.

The blond kept him in check almost involuntarily, and the village knew it. The Uchiha almost always did as Naruto asked him, and nobody held more sway over him than the future Hokage. He was more effective than twenty ANBU black ops, and the council used that to their advantage. Naruto had been appointed as his guard, to prevent him from attacking, but the dark eyed Shinobi felt more like it was the other way around. If a villager tried to throw a rock, Naruto was there to catch it. An insult and Naruto would throw one right back. Sasuke found it odd to say the least, but what was even stranger was that he didn't mind being treated like he couldn't take care of himself. At least not when it was Naruto there doing the protecting.

Once more they stopped at the edges of a clearing. Sasuke peeked through the bushes and caught sight of a puppy that matched the description. Something was off, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. Was it the dog's stance? Or his position? . . .

_. . .suke? Sasuke, are you hearing me?_

The boy in question shook his head clear. _Yeah, I hear you._

_Good. Let's get this over with. One, two, three!_

Naruto rushed the puppy from his hiding spot, and Sasuke was shocked when the dog actually managed to run away.

"Sasuke, catch it!"

He leapt out of the tree as the animal bolted right toward him, scooping it up in his arms. He checked the collar. Checked again. Frowned. "Naruto, get over here."

The blond boy walked over and peered at the tag. The first part was written in a looping, elegant hand.

_Ryu, Kami's dragon. If found, return to Kage no Ryu, the idiot that named her terrifying pet that's the size of a house after herself._

The second part was in something vaguely resembling chicken scratch, only slightly more legible.

_Sorry. Destiny likes to make fun of me. But yes, please return Ryu-kun to Kage no Ryu. _

Naruto's brow creased. "Dragon of the Shadows? Destiny? Who would name their kid that?"

Sasuke shook his head in disbelief, and Naruto gawked slightly at the way that his chicken-butt hair didn't even budge. "I really don't know. Didn't Tsunade-sama say that the owner's name was Nintei Kutamaru?"

The blond boy snorted. "Trust you to remember such a random name. But yeah, she did. Maybe the client lied?"

Sasuke shivered. "Not another Tazuna incident, please not another Wave mission."

But I, as the embodiment of Chaos, was not about to let him off easy.

Ryu, who had to that point sat comfortably in Sasuke's arms, _decided_ (cough*Imadeher*cough) to bite him. Hard. The raven haired teen dropped the dog, which scampered into the middle of the clearing.

"Kuso," he cursed, and was about to retrieve the wayward animal when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Naruto had his eyes shut, and held him firmly in place. "What?" Sasuke was a bit peeved, but there had to be a good reason. Naruto may be an idiot, but he wasn't a total imbecile anymore.

"Kyuubi says there's something happening to its chakra. Check with your sharingan," said his comrade softly. "There's something off about it."

Wordlessly, Sasuke complied. He only activated the three tomoes, no need for his eternal mangekyou, and looked. What he saw made his eyes widen.

Quickly and steadily, the dog's chakra was growing. And it wasn't normal. Normal chakra was blue, the exception being that of Kyuubi (red). This chakra, which continued to multiply, was white tinged with gold.

By that point the puppy held enough chakra to be on par with a jonin. Sasuke whispered his discovery to Naruto, who relayed it to Kyuubi. His eyes were closed, and Sasuke took up a defensive stance as the dog's chakra grew larger by the second.

His companion finally opened his eyes and urgently whispered, "We need to get out of here."

"Why? What is that?"

"That, Teme, is divine chakra. That isn't a puppy. It's an actual dragon, and Kyuubi's chakra might react badly."

"Badly meaning . . ."

"An explosion of everything within a ten mile radius."

"Kuso! Let's go!" They sped off through the trees, and Sasuke's mind raced. An actual dragon? Divine chakra? They were in deep trouble.

A minute later, they were back where they started. Naruto cursed. "It trapped us in a loop while we were looking at its tag! We won't physically get more than ten feet from the clearing!"

"Shimatta!" Sasuke activated his sharingan again and was blinded by the chakra glare. When he switched them off, he saw what definitely wasn't a puppy.

It was five feet tall and ten feet long, not nearly as big as the dragons of legend. It's hide was of scales the size of his hand, and the end of its tail was a mass of lethally sharp spikes. Yet despite its fearsome appearance, its eyes expressed no ill bearing. In fact, they seemed kind.

Greetings, Earthly Ones. The voice was melodious and feminine.

Sasuke and Naruto blinked, startled. It could talk. Interesting. Naruto visibly paled at something Kyuubi must have said, and he gave a quick bow. "Greetings, Messenger of Kami. Nine Tails extends his own salutations."

And I mine. It has been a while since I have seen him.

Sasuke followed up with his own bow. "Greetings, Ryu-sama."

Hello, young Sharingan. You have done well to forsake the path of constant vengeance. 

"Thank you, Ryu-sama. May I ask, why do you grace us with your presence?"

The dragon gave a gentle laugh. I have a request from Kage no Ryu. I wish I had time to explain her job and why, but I have no time. Prepare yourselves and remember what I tell you. 

One- adapt. Do so as quickly as possible, as time is of the essence.

Two- Be ninja. Use your skills freely and openly. Display your hitai-ate with pride.

Three- courage. You have no short supply, but do not let your will desert you

Four- seek friendship. You will be alone save for each other, and there is no shame in befriending the younger teens.

Five- keep secrets. While you may proudly call yourselves shinobi, conceal the Demon and the Sharingan for as long as you can. And it doesn't do to give away village secrets.

Follow these rules and you will fare well. You may have a good chance of surviving Kage no Ryu's challenge. Bide your time, use your talent, and stay alive.

Farewell, heroes. This may well be the last time you meet me.

Naruto was about to say something when the dragon closed her eyes. The white-gold chakra solidified and formed a cloud around her like Kyuubi's did to Naruto. It shone brighter and brighter until her form vanished into the piercing light. From the center a small circle appeared and expanded, growing to be eight feet wide. Through it they could see a great galaxy full of stars that twinkled softly. Without warning they were sucked in, and for a moment they drifted.

Then the serene lights winked out one by one and everything turned black.

**Muahahahahahahahahahaha!**

**And the adventure begins!**

**-Dragon**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi there! So it was my birthday on Saturday, and I decided "Why not get off my sorry butt and work on that chapter 3 I've been writing for a few weeks now!" But then, I looked, and discovered that it's complete crap! So I had to rewrite it! I'm terrible at this kind of stuff, as my mind tends to ramble and they start talking about totally obscure topics in dramatic moments, but I'm trying! Cut me a little slack and tell me what I can do if I ever choose to rewrite this chapter (again).**

Dumbledore was irritated.

I know, that's not a word typically associated with him (though irritating is), but it was true.

He had been sitting in his office, drinking a nice cup of tea, relaxing for the first time in months, when there had been a flash. Two boys had popped out of nowhere, disrupted his quiet time, and _spilled_ his _tea._ The sheer nerve, Albus could hardly comprehend. And then they started squawking in some foreign language. Couldn't they tell that he wasn't Japanese? Then again, the blondie hardly looked asian, so maybe they came from a place where the skin and hair was mixed and they really _couldn't_ tell.

And it had only gotten worse from there. Dumbledore had suddenly found himself with a sword held to his throat by blondie, (who, by the way, he didn't even see move), and his wand was in the hands of mister pale-skin. They had started asking him questions, which he couldn't answer because he _spoke freaking English._ Eventually they had figured out the language barrier and slowly, painfully, they wrote out a message which Albus translated using an English-Japanese dictionary that he kept on his shelf (he also kept English-Mermish, English-Portuguese, English-French, English-Norwegian, and one to decode the words of a person with a heavy Irish accent).

After an excruciating hour, he convinced them to allow a translation spell. He had done so, and then regretted it. The two bickered like schoolgirls, and loudly at that. He could barely get a word in edgewise. When he finally got a stable conversation going that consisted of more than Japanese insults that he didn't understand, like Dobe and Teme whatever that meant, the pair started spouting nonsense about something called a Hokage, a Konoha, a person named Baachan (a very odd name, he must say) a dragon, and something called Kami that was apparently all-powerful. Apparently they were 'shinobi', sent by a dragon that was actually intelligent and _not_ a stupid fire-breathing beast.

It had taken another hour of nonstop chatter and talking in circles to finally figure out an arrangement. The pair, named Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha (to Dumbledore's confusion they had introduced themselves backwards and it had required explaining that Naruto and Sasuke were indeed their individual names) would stay at the castle. As they were both 17, adult age, they would be left to their own devices and could participate in classes if they so wished. They were not allowed to harm any students without provocation, but threats were perfectly fine.

After that exhausting venture, Dumbledore had a teacher escort them to neutral rooms that belonged to no house. They would be sorted at the start of the year, and he had granted permission to give a grand entrance as long as it didn't cause too much damage. Too much being the key words in that sentence.

As the teens were led away by professor McGonagall, Dumbledore sat back with a heavy sigh. His tea was gone, he had just been subjected to two hours of torture, and despite his better judgement, allowed a pair of highly trained ninjas to stay at the school where the Triwizard tournament was being held.

So yes, it was safe to say that he was irritated.

With year another sigh he set the teapot to work. This was going to be a long year.

**-Destiny- (like my new line break?)**

**Time skip- One month**

Dumbledore sat quietly at his desk and pressed his fingers together. The quiet would be gone in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 . . .

Bang! The door slammed open.

"Hey Dumbles! Whaddaya want us for?"

The old man let out a small sigh. Naruto had been the bane of his existence for a month now and he was looking forward to a break from the constant noise and pranks, even if it was only for a few days.

"Naruto, Sasuke, I have a job for you. In a few days the school year begins, and the children will be picked up via Hogwarts express. Your assignment is to go along on the train and guard a student. He is of vital importance, and was attacked this summer. You will be there for precaution during the journey. You won't need many items, but pack what you need for a three day train trip."

Sasuke, the quiet one that Albus was eternally grateful for, nodded. "Hai, Dumbledore-san. Come on Dobe, let's pack."

Naruto's protests to the nickname faded away as they exited the office. Quiet.

Dumbledore smiled. Finally some relaxation time.

**-Destiny-**

**A/N- I'm terribly sorry, but I lost my copy of the Goblet of Fire. I have no recollection of the events of that train ride, so I'm making my own. This whole thing is going to be out of my memory of the book, so don't chew me out for a small mistake. Notify, yes, but don't scream please. **

Harry sat in the train car with Ron and Hermione and stared out the window when there was a knock on the door. His head snapped around as Hermione opened the door and openly stared at the newcomers.

Two boys who looked about 16-17 stood in the open doorway. The one on the left had dark hair that looked like a duck's butt and the other, slightly shorter one had wild blond spikes. They both wore odd getups, snug black clothing and weird little pouch thingamajigs. Most startling, however, was the fact that they both wore swords. Black-hair had a long curved one across his back and Blond-hair had two shorter ones at his hips.

He blinked, then shrank away slowly as their gazes simultaneously locked with his and narrowed. For a moment black and blue flashed red, but that must have been his imagination.

"Is one of you Harry Potter?" Black-hair asked. He had a slight accent that Harry couldn't identify. Chinese? Timidly, he raised a hand. Maybe not the best idea, but you don't lie to two guys with swords. Judging by the way that they wore them, the boys knew how to use the blades as well.

"Great! We found you! How ya doin'?" And just like that the tension was broken as the blond one suddenly jumped for joy. Odd sort of person. "Hear that Teme, told you this was the lucky train car!"

"Hn." Black-hair made a noncommittal noise. "Dobe."

"Don't call me that!"

"I'll call you what I want to, Usratonkachi."

"Grr!"

"Excuse me," Hermione asked nervously, "Could you tell us why you needed to find Harry?"

"Well to protect him of course," said Blond-hair as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We're not shinobi for nothing."

Black-hair elbowed him in the ribs. "Baka, they're more wizards. They don't know what shinobi are."

"Oops." Blond-hair rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Weeeeell, who cares! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and this is Uchiha Sasuke."

"Dobe, you switched them again! We're not in Konoha anymore."

"Well excuse me for introducing myself the way I have my entire life. Fine, your country would say it Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. Dang, that feels so stupid."

"You are stupid."

"Teme!"

"Hn."

Ron interrupted their 'interesting' conversation with a belch.

Dead silence.

"What?" he said defensively. "Had a few too many chocolate frogs, that's all."

The entire room was suddenly full of rolling eyeballs. Then suddenly Naruto had was right next to harry with his had over the other boy's shoulder. "Hey, can you tell us what's so special about you? Ol' Dumbles told us you were important and that your security was a big deal, but he never said why."

"Dumbles? Professor Dumbledore is a highly respected member of the wizard society!" Hermione shouted indignantly.

Sasuke, who was suddenly sitting next to Ron, scoffed. "He calls the leader of our village Baa-chan." Seeing her confusion, he elaborated. "That means Granny."

Ron snort-laughed, choking on a chocolate frog in the process. Sasuke thumped him heavily on the back and the piece of chocolate flew straight toward Naruto, colliding with . . .

Air.

Naruto wasn't there anymore, instead sitting right next to Sasuke. The wizards stared shamelessly. Noticing their gazes, Naruto laughed. "Never seen a shinobi move before?"

Hermione's head tilted slightly, and she looked thoroughly weirded out. "What's a shinobi?"

Sasuke and Naruto face-faulted. "You have got to be joking," Sasuke said flatly.

Hermione was unfazed by their reaction, and added another question. "And why do you wear those weapons? I don't think that you're allowed to have them on the train. And there's nobody you'd use them on."

Naruto fainted dramatically, and 'woke up' just in time to dodge a slap from an angry Uchiha. "Reality check. There's danger everywhere."

Hermione shook her head. "We're perfectly safe if Dumbledore and the teachers are here."

The blond's face contorted in anger. "You've got to be freaking kidding me! Wake up, kid! The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows!" He shouted angrily. "Your world is supposedly just waiting for a war and you seem to think that you can hide behind the grownups! Get a clue! Enemies can come from anywhere! Even . . ." he faltered, and Sasuke looked extremely uncomfortable, "Even among those that you call friends. Ask me. I know." There was no trace of the laughing idiot that had been giggling moments earlier. Sasuke's face was even more closed off than previously. The only hint that he was stressed was the clenching of his fists.

After a minute of silence Ron, wordlessly and awkwardly, handed them each a chocolate frog. Without a sound aside from the pop of the box they opened the chocolate . . .

_Whit!_

_Thud!_

The wizards blinked as a knife with a chocolate frog impaled on it appeared in their vision. Naruto held it perfectly still. Sasuke's frog was pinned to the seat, and his hand was out slightly after throwing the weapon.

"Is it common here," asked Naruto faintly, "for your food to _move_? Because if it is, I'm not sure how we'll survive."

"How . . ." Hermione looked positively ill, "How? It's not humanly possible to move that quickly!"

Sasuke looked at her emotionlessly. "Nowhere is safe, especially for a target. Get a grip, and up your guard. Grow up. You're on the brink of war, and it's time you acted like it," he said coldly.

"Welcome to the world of shinobi."

**Aaaaaaaaand cut!**

**If you think that this is bad, you should have seen my earlier draft. It was TERRIBLE!**

**Okay, question time. **

**Q1: Should I put a boggart in here somewhere? I know it's kinda cliché, but it's an easy setup for a cutesy/angsty SasuNaru moment. **

**Q2: Which one should I have participating in the tournament? Sasuke or Naruto? I'm leaning toward Naru-chan, but I'd like an opinion.**

**Q3: Should I have a drunken moment? I love them, and I think I'm going to do one, but again I'd like an opinion. **

**Q4: Animagus forms? Clichéd fox? Clichéd raven? Another form? Give suggestions!**

**If you answer these questions, you may have my soul. Or maybe just Wobs.**

**Oh yeah! I mentioned Wobs in the first chapter, but didn't explain who she is! Wobs is my inner voice. She is my sadistic, sappy, cliché, evil alter ego. She doesn't take over my body exactly, but she occasionally takes over a moment of my writing. Every once in a while she'll even put herself in the author's notes. She's been rather quiet, but the sadistic/sappy part of her will most likely show up if I add a boggart scene. So yeah. Don't be surprised if my writing suddenly turns evil. It's just Wobs. **

**Yay! Review! I've gotten alert listings, but almost no reviews. If you place an alert, please review. **

**If you do, I have cupcakes(We ran out of cookies XD)! **

**-Dragon**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yo peeps! Wazzup? Thank you SOOOOOOO much for the reviews! A deep thanks to:**

**Vampirecat1191**

**Anon (anonymous T_T)**

**Sakura240**

**SaturnXK**

**Thanks to everyone who put alerts on this story too. Support feels wonderful!**

**Poll standings: Boggart: YES!**

**Competitor: Naruto- 100%**

**Tipsy-time: YES!**

**Animagus forms: You guys really love the clichés, don't you? Oh well, I do too :).**

**Chapter 4: Arrival and Highly Dramatic Entry**

Harry, Ron, and Hermione exited the express chatting amiably with the two ninja. After the tension was removed, introductions made in a more understandable fashion, and the basics of shinobi status explained, they all became friends of sorts. Harry couldn't help but feel as if the boys were hiding something, and occasionally one of them would be hit by a memory or something.

Take, for example, the subject of Voldemort. When the connection to snakes was revealed, Naruto and Sasuke stiffened. Sasuke's hand twitched slightly, and both pairs of eyes suddenly seemed cold. Naruto muttered something that sounded rather like 'a roach tomorrow', but Harry was fairly certain that he had heard wrong.

Then there was Ron's similarity to some person named Gaara. Apparently Gaara was extremely frightening, seeing as they would sometimes flinch slightly at Ron's movements. It was exceedingly odd.

As the quintet moved toward the carriages, Naruto and Sasuke stopped. They exchanged glances, and then suddenly were gone. Hermione gasped, Ron made an expression resembling that of a fish, and Harry just stared. They were there . . . and then they weren't. Wasn't apparition supposed to be impossible this close to Hogwarts? He shook it off and grabbed his friends by the elbows. "Just ignore it," he muttered. Thankfully, they did so.

A few minutes later the carriage was rolling toward the school.

**-Destiny-**

Two shinobi hung upside down from the ceiling in the back corners of the front hall, watching as the students filed in. Lurking in the shadows, you couldn't see them unless you were looking for them specifically, and even if you were looking you couldn't see their faces behind the pearl white masks of a fox and a raven. They weren't actually ANBU masks, just similar. Neither boy was quite that level yet.

The masses of students surged inward in great waves, and the noise gradually increased to a roar of chatter. Naruto cringed, his Kyuubi senses beginning to ache with the assault on his eardrums. Masses of black writhed and slowly sat down at the tables. After several more minutes the flow ceased and the doors closed.

Dumbledore stood. He gathered attention with a rather loud clap, and said a small speech before the back doors swung open once more and revealed the first years. Naruto could hardly begin to imagine how purple his face was by the time they finished the ceremony. As the last of the students took their seat at a house table, Naruto caught Sasuke sending him hand signals.

_Time?_

He nodded. _Time._

As one they flipped forward, sailing across the vast room. They landed about halfway between the doors and the front table, and in the aisles that were one table from the wall **(if I's are tables and - are shinobi, the layout is I-I I-I) **in dramatic crouches on one knee. They stood, perfectly synchronized, and Naruto grinned behind the non-ANBU mask. This would be fun.

They flipped forward, a complicated series of tucks and front handsprings. They stopped at the front of the room, facing the doors, and pivoted to face away from each other. Now the hard part. They had to do this without killing each other or causing too much damage.

They both ran with astonishing speed up the wall and stopped at the joint between ceiling and vertical wall. Sasuke powered up a Chidori, and he a rasengan. They ran down again, gathering momentum, and the world seemed to slow. They carefully maneuvered their techniques to clash, and they did.

The rest of the room watched in unconcealed awe as the two balls of pure energy smashed together. A light, the brightest white laced with blue, and for some odd reason, black, exploded from the collision point. Some shielded their eyes, while most stared straight at the glow to see what would happen next. After a full twenty seconds the light began to die and the whole room leaned forward.

Two teens, a blond and a raven, stood hand in hand **(I know that it's OOC, but I couldn't resist. SasuNaru handholding? SO CUTE!) **where the center of the light had been. In their free hand they each held a mask, the same ones that the incredibly powerful strangers were wearing moments before.

The blond grinned. "Yo," he said, saluting with his free left hand, "Was that cool or what?"

Professor Dumbledore stood, clapping. "Thank you for that wonderful performance Naruto, Sasuke. Students of Hogwarts, I would like you to meet our special guests that will be here all year. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. They are ninja, otherwise known as shinobi, and were sent here by a mysterious force that we have yet to identify. Feel free to approach Naruto, as he is very friendly, but beware of Sasuke. He bites. If you irritate them enough they will kill you, so don't get on their bad sides. They will now be sorted into houses for the sake of simplicity. They will not be involved with house points. Naruto, would you be so kind as to put on the hat?"

Naruto let go of Sasuke's hand and walked forward excitedly to slam the hat on his head. He stared ahead for a few seconds before a voice seemed to whisper in his ear

_Hmm, a shinobi, eh? _

He jumped, looking around wildly, hand straying to his kunai pouch.

_Oops, should have known. Shinobi reflexes. I'm the hat, here to cause you mental anguish as I tease you about what house I put you in. Stay quiet, let me do my job, and for heaven's sake __put that knife away!_

Naruto did so sheepishly. _**Sorry. **_

_Good. Killed plenty. Only reason you're not ANBU is because of the council preventing you from advancing? Why . . . ah, I see. Kyuubi's container, tormented by stupid blind idiots. You have my sympathy. _

_**Thanks.**_

_You're welcome. Like I said, you've killed much, but it's all been for your friends. I see that you hold the Uchiha in a special place . . . Ohohooo, and you haven't figured it out yet. _

_**Figured what out?**_

_. . . Nothing. Extreme loyalty, always keep your promises, unique and pure nindo . . . _

_GRYFFINDOR! _

Naruto grinned widely and ripped the hat off his head. He practically skipped to the Gryffindor table, where total strangers clapped him on the back. Odd.

Sasuke stepped forward. Calm he placed the worn piece of fabric on his head.

_Well hello there._

_**I'm assuming that you are the hat?**_

_Smart one here. Ravenclaw? Oh no, far too much of a dark past. Betrayal, deceit, killing, lack of mercy, __snakes __. . . Do you have any idea how perfect you are for Slytherin?_

_**NO! Not the snake house. Bad memories. Trauma. I really don't want to have those pulled up every time I look around.**_

_Ah yes, now I see. That man, Orochimaru. That was truly terrible. And you still carry the mark?_

_**. . . Yes.**_

_I see. But still, I don't know. You truly fit in with the people there, even if your reforming makes you much better than you were a year ago._

_**Please don't separate me from Naruto. He's practically all I have left.**_

_. . . I see. Very well. If you are both so loyal to each other, why not. _

_GRYFFINDOR!_

Sasuke walked over to the table with a small smile on his face. Naruto wore one that was equally small, but a thousand times more genuine than the usual grins. And as the raven took a seat, he knew for certain that the hat was wrong. He wouldn't belong with the Slytherins.

He belonged wherever his best friend was.

**Yay! Couldn't help the cheesiness of the last line, Wobs made me do it. **

**I think the boggart scene might end up being in the next chapter. If it isn't, it's in one of the next four.**

**Review! We have ice cream today and it's chocolate with lots of sprinkles! I was going to make more cookies, but I forgot to buy the butter.**

**-Dragon**


	5. Chapter 5

**If anyone here is willing, I'm interested in a beta. Contact me with a PM if you feel you're up to the job. I'll read your previous works and respond if I'm impressed. Warning: if you like Sakura, don't do it.**

**Thank you to all who reviewed.**

**Chapter 5: Where are the chopsticks?**

Sasuke sat next to Naruto and listened silently as the blond jabbered animatedly about being a ninja. He didn't give a break for questions, so all the listeners were staring in utter confusion as to what chakra was. Sasuke smirked.

He scanned the table, taking in the new faces, before landing on two in particular. A pair of identical boys. While that in itself wasn't all that strange, their appearances were. While Ron strongly resembled Gaara, these two could easily pass as his long lost brothers from a set of identical triplets. The only difference was the distinct lack of a tattoo, no eye rings, and they seemed like quite the jokesters.

Note to self: Never allow these two to meet Naruto.

The hall gradually quieted as Dumbledore called for silence. Naruto was just about the last one to stop, and Sasuke was ready to slam a hand over his mouth before he shut up. He actually did just that when Naruto opened his mouth again- probably to comment on how dang old Dumbledore looked.

"Before we get to the feast," Dumbledore said, "I have an announcement to make. This year our school will be host to guests from Durmstrang Institute and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. They will be arriving tomorrow. That is all. On with the feast!" **(Yeah, lame I know. I'm terrible with speeches.)**

The hall erupted in excited chatter.

Dumbledore took his seat and both ninja just about jumped out of their skins as food materialized on the table out of nowhere. They stared and blinked, before simultaneously forming a few seals. The jutsu they used strengthened their senses, and both boys took a moment to get used to the overload of information before narrowing the enhancement down to the sense of smell. They garnered some odd looks, but simply ignored it as they investigated for traces of poison. It took several minutes, in which time half the table started staring.

You really couldn't blame the Gryffindors. To outsiders it appeared as though they were doing some weird handshake and holding a sniff/staring contest with the food. Harry just tried to ignore it, having seen enough of their strange antics on the express so as to no longer be surprised. For a moment he wondered exactly how abnormal their home was if this was something that every person did. He brushed the thought off with a shudder, having received a weird vision of two crazy guys with bushy eyebrows, bowl haircuts, horrendous green jumpsuits and blinding teeth.

The smile part was Lockhart all over again.

The ninja took a total of five minutes to deem the food safe, and promptly ran into another problem. Naruto phrased it in three words.

"Where're the chopsticks?" **(Over the time that they've been at Hogwarts, Dumbledore gave them chopsticks knowing their origins.)**

Ron choked on his food in a failed attempt at a disbelieving noise. After he swallowed, he asked incredulously, "Are you kidding?"

Naruto shook his head, picking up a fork and examining it. "What are these things? Do you eat with them?" He looked closely at the tines of the fork and poked himself in the eye. "ITAI!"

"Baka!" Sasuke snatched the fork out of the air before it hit the table. "You'd think that if you throw knives you could handle a little foreign utensil!" Naruto stuck out his tongue.

Ron fiddled with his fingers for a moment before taking charge. "All right, just follow how the rest of us use them. They aren't that hard."

The pair looked a bit uneasy- well, Naruto did. Sasuke was just impassive. Ron was beginning to think that the dark haired teen had the emotional capacity of a rock, with the exception of anger. There had been next to no feeling displayed in the four hours that Ron had known Sasuke. The only time that there was, was when he and Naruto argued. In Ron's opinion it was rather like the bickering of an old married couple (cough*MollyandArthur*cough).

The next second he caught his thought and turned a tomato red, quickly returning to stuffing himself so as to blame the blush on oxygen deprivation.

Naruto struggled with his fork, trying to sit it in his hand so that it wouldn't hurt. The handle kept pressing painfully into the side of his hand, and when it was finally comfortable the prong things were sticking up to the sky. He growled slightly in frustration.

He looked to see how Sasuke was faring and pointed accusingly as he saw that his companion had already begun eating with the fork and was having absolutely no problem. "Teme! How'd you do that?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "It's like holding chopsticks, but there's only one."

After several minutes, much cursing, and overuse of the words 'teme' and 'dobe', Naruto was finally eating properly. Hermione looked at the pair with her head tilted slightly. "Teme and dobe? Are those nicknames or something?"

Naruto choked on his chicken wing and Sasuke thumped him hard on the back. When he could breathe again, he protested. "NO! They are _not_ nicknames! They are insults! Insults, I tell you!"

Hermione blinked. "But you're friends. Why would you insult each other so often?"

Sasuke snorted. Naruto rolled his eyes. "We weren't always friends. In fact, we were kinda fighting to the near death every time we saw each other up until about a year ago. It's complicated," he said, seeing her horrified look. "Anyway, teme means bastard. He totally acts like one. And dobe . . ." his face turned red and he fell silent.

Sasuke, unfortunately for Naruto, chose that moment to speak. "Dobe means dead last. Or stupid. However you want to interpret it."

"Dead last?"

"Lowest scores in school. And he really did graduate dead last, so my insult actually holds water. My parents were indeed married, thank you very much."

"Oh," Hermione was out of things to say, so she turned back to her food.

"Hey Ronnie-"

"-how's it going?"

The two redheads that Sasuke had picked out earlier as people to keep away from Naruto sat down right next to the blond. Sasuke resisted the urge to groan. This couldn't be good.

"Fred, George, go away." Ron said angrily.

"No way-"

"-Mum'd kill us."

"We're staying with you-"

"-'cause we love you so much-"

"-and 'cause we don't want to get castrated."

"Say, did you hear?"

"There are new ghosts in the Forbidden Forest."

"Four of them."

"We're the only ones who've seen 'em."

"Yeah, yeah." Ron waved them off. "Go bug somebody else."

The twins looked miffed, sticking their noses in the air dramatically and speaking as one. "Whatever." They stalked off to rant about their find to other unsuspecting Gryffindors. Sasuke breathed easier.

The golden trio chattered for the rest of lunch with Naruto as Sasuke continued to observe the people. Slytherin seemed to be a rather shady group, and he had to admit that it would have suited his personality perfectly. However, he'd rather be surrounded by overly energetic idiots than the snake emblem. He would prefer not to be reminded of Orochimaru, thank you very much.

After dinner they all went up to the common room. The five collapsed in the chairs by the fire and made small talk, with the obvious exception of Sasuke. He just listened for a few hours as Naruto and Harry talked about the Potter's adventures. For a minute he thought it odd that two seventeen year olds were becoming friends with kids three years younger and infinitely more innocent. Then he shrugged it off. Stranger things had definitely happened. He stared at the fire and the patterns filled his vision . . .

It was late and all the other students had snuck up to the dorms to sleep when it happened.

"- and so then Riddle told me he was Voldemort. And I stood up for Dumbledore and Fawkes- the phoenix, remember- flew in carrying the sorting hat. Then Riddle summoned the basilisk, and-"

"Wait," Naruto interrupted. "What's a basilisk?"

"It's a giant snake."

Naruto suddenly turned about eight shades paler. "Are you serious?"

"Why would I be joking."

If possible, Naruto grew whiter. "Teme?" He gulped.

Sasuke blinked, coming back to reality. "Yeah, dobe?

Naruto was suddenly on the couch next to him, a few inches away from being in his lap, clutching his arm in a death grip. The blond whispered in his ear, and Sasuke shivered slightly at the breath hitting his neck. "There's a snake guy in this world too."

"WHAT!"

Naruto found himself on the floor, looking up at a very angry Sasuke with his sharingan activated.

"Don't screw with me, dobe."

Naruto shook his head violently. "Serioulsly, there's a snake guy named Voldemort, and he's basically Orochimaru's twin. He wants immortality and everything."

Sasuke swore violently in Japanese, with words I don't care to repeat here. If I had been allowed at the time, I would have opened a portal to the dimension and given him a talking to. As it was, meddling too much was quite against the rules, and that would have ruined it all anyway.

"_I can't freaking believe it. The bastard is here too?_

Naruto shook his head. _"Like I said, it's not actually him. The guy is just extremely similar."_

Sasuke relaxed slightly. _"Good. I was worried that he was resurrected or something and followed us all the way here."_

"_You're fine. Don't worry about it. He's dead, and you're stronger than him. He can't touch you."_

"_Thanks dead last."_

"_No problem bastard."_

"Uh, guys? We're kinda getting left out of the conversation here!" That would be Ron.

Sasuke sat back down, and Naruto seated himself next to the raven. He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Personal stuff."

Ron rolled his eyes but left it alone. Hermione stared at Sasuke and frowned.

"What's with your eyes? They're red and have a funny pattern."

Both shinobi looked at one another, and Naruto's blue gaze met Sasuke's sharingan that had been activated on reflex. At that moment their thoughts were identical.

"_Crap."_

**SORRY! I made you wait SO long! Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!**

**The new ghosts mentioned by Fred and George are extremely important. They are Naruto characters. If a person can guess any of them, they get awesome points. So guess, people, guess. Hints:**

**GHOST 1: Sakura would be horrified, Gaara's soul would churn, and Orochimaru would raise an eyebrow and hiss creepily.**

**GHOST 2: Annoys the crap out of G1, Tobi would shriek, and many would comment on their appearance.**

**GHOST 3: G2 would scream in anger and frustration, Kakashi would freak, Sasuke would stare with no tact at all.**

**GHOST 4: Sasuke would be thrown into angst/semi-suicide mode, Naruto would cover his mouth, Konoha would come at them with torches and pitchforks.**

**I need suggestions for the way the next chapter will go.**

**The next chappie will probably be the boggart. How should I set it up? Will the boggart be part of a prank set by Fred and George? Will it be a wild one under a dorm bed? Tell me!**

**-Dragon**


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